Watch Putin's Kiss For Free

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

A different way of telling a story

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Putin's Kiss (shot and edited so as to situate it midway between documentary and Reality TV show) follows Masha Drokova, a rather naïve 19-year-old who eventually rose to prominence in Nashi, a pro-Russia, anti-fascist, thug-infested political youth organization. ("Nashi" is presumably derived from the Russian word for "nationalist" similar to the way "Nazi" was derived from the German term for National Socialist.) Nashi offers members "summer camps" reminiscent of both the Young Pioneers in the Soviet Union and the Hitler Youth. It proves to have a nasty, violent side that Masha ideologically blinds herself to. For Masha, though, Nashi held more immediate benefits (new car, spacious digs, a meeting with the head of the Russian state, the hem of whose garment she touched).That gradually changes as she gets to know Oleg Kashin, an opposition journalist who figures prominently in the film. Masha reflexively dislikes him, as her Nashi affiliation requires. True-believer Masha thus serves as foil to Stalwart Oleg, who endures much for his commitment to journalistic professionalism. He has chosen a lonely life of hardship and injury, and we are all glad of it.Oleg appears as one of two credited cast members on the IMDb "full cast" listing. (Masha's name is curiously not present.) The other cast member being ... Vladimir Putin, formerly a lieutenant colonel in the KGB and now (again) President of the Russian Federation and de facto strongman leader since 1999. (If you watch closely, a secondary theme may emerge: Here's yet another short man who entered public life to make a right pest of himself so as not to be overlooked.) Actually, the film, set in Moscow, shows hundreds of other political militants as well (thousands, if you count the political rally scenes). A few of them are captioned during public appearances and motivational speeches.For those who still believed Russia to be a fledgling but functional post-Soviet-era democracy, the film will hold upsetting revelations. One of them is that political leaders see no downside to saying one thing and doing another — a tendency yielded to with even more relish and gusto in Russia than in chaotic corners of the EU or in the corporation-beholden US Congress.Another is how PR-savvy Putin has become in his dealings with the public and the media, the better to put a palatable, modern face on Russia while consolidating absolute control and entrenching the Russian police state. Putin has, for example, cannily overseen the creation of a range of political organizations that act as clubs for Russians young and old, affording them relatively harmless, socially sanctioned, toothless outlets for their nationalism.But there's little in Putin's strategies that can't be found in countries the world over. Putin just has fewer qualms about making dissidents offers they can't refuse.For those who even cursorily follow international news, Putin's Kiss will flesh in some details about how the Russian political machine operates. Otherwise, it could prove a yawner after the first half-hour or so. Had this film been made in the West, the full cast would have included a few dozen informants and interviewees. But that's not in the cards in Putin's Russia.And so, while admiring Oleg's bravery and Masha's political maturation, viewers over, say, age 30 will be left wondering why the film was built around the well-intentioned but bland Masha (including childhood photos of her and other biopic trappings). Is it primarily a self-aggrandizing compensation for political disillusionment? She was likely well placed to arrange for its production via contacts she'd developed as a Nashi figurehead.Russophiles will find material of interest in Putin's Kiss, as may those who have just begun delving into political studies.Others ... probably not so much.

I agree with the other posters who have said that the style of this doc was unnatural and contrived. It didn't have a candid "real life" feel to it; it was like a loosely scripted reality show at times. There were culture shock moments however, like when Masha talked about what book she'd like to burn, and the march was very interesting. The vast membership of Nashi, the aggression behind the group, the funding, and all the details which made it clear that it was a tool for leveraging political control, like a mini FSB was all very intriguing. Overall though this film felt very amateur and it crossed my mind a couple of times that it could be opposition propaganda rather than a legitimate documentary. For a topic of this magnitude they should've had a much larger and more diverse pool of people to interview. With the scope of perspective being so small, the documentary felt more like a school project.

My issues with this film were as follows: - young people acting like idiots (destroying things, beating people up, 'vandalizing' cars, acting out for cameras, joining cult-like groups and leaving them as relationships go hot/cold) is hardly proof of any kind of conspiracy other than young people in Russia are the same as young people everywhere. And that douche-bag men with napoleon complexes will take advantage of them. - the Masha girl whose character arc was the film's arc was completely unbelievable. The tragedy of her is completely common - for a brief time when she was 16-17, she was very attractive. Men treated her well. Because she was a child, she didn't realize that she was being used. (To say she had a position of power in Nashi based on that film is ridiculous, as her power was directly linked to how much the leader wanted her around - that's not real power). As he gets tired of her, she moves on to where she can get that attention from someone else- a group of reporters from the other side (ohhhhh so extreme) (she calls them her friends while they describe her joining their group as great 'social entertainment, to see what will happen'). -She says it herself in her tips of public speaking: 'if you have to give an opinion, believe in it.' (paraphrased) she brainwashes herself to whatever role gets the attention. It's sad for her (although hardly unique). But it also undercuts any believability in this documentary. She's always posing for someone - whether for the leader of Nashi, the danish reporter, the director, or someone else - her 'conversations' are re-enacted and scripted into this role that doesn't seem any more authentic than anything else about her.

This documentary details the life of a member(Masha Drokova) of Nashi, youth political organization that supports Vladimir Putin, President and Prime minister of the Russian Federation.At first Nashi seems like any type of political youth organization, like Young Democrats of America or Young Republicans. But as this doc claims there are more darker sides to this youth organization that meets the eye.Nashi seems more preoccupied with trying to silence their opposition using very violent methods, propaganda, using football hooligans to beat up people etc. Masha Drokova at first, denies these allegations but then gets to know one of Putins biggest critics, Oleg Kashin and his friends.Oleg Kashin claims that Nashi is fully comparable to Hitler Jugend, and that it only serves as mean to brainwash Russia's youth to obey Putin. Masha Drokova on other hand tries to convince him of the opposite until one day.....This documentary is quite simply just as riveting as any political thriller, look at All the King's Men (1949), Choose Connor (2007), The Ides of March (2011)etc. Or other fascinating documentaries about politics, Follow the Leader: Young, American and Right (2012), The War Room (1993)etc.What we get to see is a young girl full of idealism, naiveté and also part of the new young Russia that was born after the fall of communism, and has only benefited(socially, economically) during Putins reign.Viewers interested to know more of Russia today, and why critics seems so hard on Putin, etc should watch this. Others should stay away.